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Topic: Now I Have A 'Coon Problem (Read 7594 times)

Cb caps can still be found in PA - if you cant find those use the "shorts" they are just as quiet especially at close range out of a long barrel. Here in PA if you catch a rabies vector species (coon, skunks, opossum, g-hog) you are REQUIRED to euthanize it in some way shape or form....humanely... not that that always happens but thats what the law says.

Coyote or fox urine will help occaisionally but it is more effective on females with young and not so much the big boys :) plywood with carpet tacks is another good option... just remeber that they are there when you work your hives :)

Maybe I can send my 9 and 10 yr old boys over. They recently caught an adolescent coon in our yard by its tail! (they didn't get any scratches or bites :roll:) Dumbbunnies....

You can send them over only if they promise to take the 'coons back home with them! I might even let them have a try at some of the young 'stinkers' that live over on the neighbor's property! A few of them have gotten ran over crossing the road on the way here.....they are just inches long and the cutest little stinkers! I can tell them that they are just striped kittens.... :evil:

I have a BAD problem with coyotes here....they pass through the pastures and right next to the bee hives on a nightly basis; I have seen them running through the yard and pastures 24 hours a day. I think that the use of the coyote urine would only make the coyote problem worse!

If those kids would chase off the coyotes....we might have a good deal going on here. ;)

I did a search on the CB caps under the brand name of 'Mini Mag' (that is what I used to use and buy) and could not find any dealers that sold them in my area.

I had a large boar 'coon tear up a big Havahart live trap a couple of winter's ago and never got another one to replace it with. I also had a big boar 'coon get into the rabbit shed (he ripped apart the wire cages) and he was too big to get into a regular sized live trap. That 'coon got hit on the highway and the feller who picked him up said that it weighed around 35 to 40 pounds!

I also had 'coons try ripping into the honey shed! I found muddy tracks on the side of the door and they had used a tree to get on top of the shed trying to get inside....they tore off some of the shingles in their attempt to get inside.

I put some paneling nails into the entrance reducers on the front of the hives.I think that it just made them mad as the got into my horse's sweet feed barrel last night. I have hard enough time getting the lid off myself.

I started putting up some electric fencing! If I get anyone from PETA or the like bothering me about the fence, I will tell them that it is to keep the bees in so they make more honey.

I sure hope this is not a typical year for you in keeping bees. You have had a hard go of it this year for sure.

G3

NO this is not typical at all! In fact, this has been the year from...ah, heck.I have thought about building a portable trailer set up for my hives, where I can just hook it to the truck and pull them out of harms way! Maybe something over the top to protect them from the elements and aerial spraying too. I would need several trailers, but after this year's bad luck, I am seriously thinking about it....of course with my present luck someone would just hook on to them and steal them!

I used to just let them go and just be 'bees' and things went fine, but this year nothing is normal.

Last night a large possum got hit on the road not far from the bee yard. I just see the 'coon tracks and never once seen a 'possum track, so I guess that it was not bothering the hives. As big as it was, it would have not had any problem getting into some of the nucs.

I seen some tiny birds that I think were wrens trying to get inside the nucs this morning. I am not sure if the wrens where trying to get bees or if they were attracted to something else.

Use the box trap and be selective. However, skunks,opossums and coons all get it around my hives. Don't take your problem to someone else "solve it". If you don't have a trap or want to do the deed, contact a trapper or a hunter. It may cost money or permission to hunt on your land or you might get it done for nothing.These problem animals are not in any danger of becoming an endangered species. In fact there are more of them than ever. This is due to Man breaking up habitat and changing it to what he wants (lots of housing and malls). Their high populations are very destructive to native birds and turtles.

There are still people that love to trap out there, you just have to find them.

I was at the local bee guru's and I saw on the entrances of some of his nucs that he had a heavy, but widely spaced wire mesh across the entrances. When I asked him what that was, he replied that it was a mouse excluder. I'm not sure where he bought the stuff, but it was obviously widely enough spaced for the bees to easily go in and out, but small enough that a mouse could not get through. I would also think that would work to keep little paws out.

Last night I had 'coons around the hives in the hay field. They have never visited those hives before. I am going to be nailing up some hardware cloth that I got for 'free'; someone tossed out a large roll of it in the trash this morning.

I just wondered if the zinc or lead solder would get into the honey?

I seen at least twenty 'coons out in the bee yard last night; this is the yard behind my house. Most were adults with a few youngsters in there with their mamas. It looked like the hog pen at feeding time. I tossed a few left over fireworks their way and they high tailed it out of there and into the corn field.

It has been very dry here lately and the river and backwaters are drying up.The old couple that used to feed the 'coons nolonger feed them, so they are looking at other 'homes' for free handouts and not wanting to forage for their own food anymore. They have became reliant on people feeding them.

This is my first time on this particular forum and I must say I find it disgusting. Catch them and then drown them??? Seriously?? I hope you first take the time to remove all of their toenails so they suffer just a bit more. The poster who shoots them is much more kind (though it's never a good idea to have animals, meat-eating animal scat or by products in compost - the bacteria are not suitable).

Brenda, I have racoons and they have never bothered my hives. I have them on stands off the ground 2- 3 feet with rocks on the top. I've also had mouse guards, but have no problem even in summer when the guards are not on. Having them raised also keeps out skunks, possums, etc.

The racoons do sometimes come up and eat some of the birdseed, or cat food if it's still there, but that's all they bother. The cat doesn't mind them, either. I agree that the dropping of unwanted animals in country areas is despicable. Too bad those people can't be caught and dealt with appropriately. The same for those taking wild animals and dropping them in the city. Some people really need decent hobbies. Wild animals certainly do cause occasional problem, which are generally caused in actuality by humans. Too bad we can't drown those people also. :roll: The animals at least are just being animals and trying to get food to survive. I'm not crazy about coyotes, myself. However, I do fail to understand the venom on this thread. IF YOU HATE NATURE SO MUCH, WHY DO YOU LIVE IN THE COUNTRY????

By the way, some of you should concentrate less on illegal and cruel poisons and more on grammar and spelling lessons.

another city idiot heard from. because of the tree hugging, gun/hunting fear mongers, some of us can't shoot where we live. poison is indeed cruel and dangerous to other animals. trapping and moving makes these animals someone elses problem. drowning is quick and efficient.

come back and talk to us after the 'coons have torn up 100's of dollars of your stuff and killed your bees. in the real world, we do what we have to do and we do it within the limits that folks like you impose upon us.

Logged

.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

upper entrances help, but are not practical for all of us. i can not use them here in the winter. i would rather discourage critters than kill them, but sometimes, no amount of discouraging will work. so far, my raccoons have left off my hives in favor of dropped fruit, etc. however, given the size of those i have around, if they decided to get into my hives, i have no doubt they would succeed, or do real damage trying. in that case, they would have to meet a permanent solution.

Logged

.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

another city idiot heard from. because of the tree hugging, gun/hunting fear mongers, some of us can't shoot where we live. poison is indeed cruel and dangerous to other animals. trapping and moving makes these animals someone elses problem. drowning is quick and efficient.

come back and talk to us after the 'coons have torn up 100's of dollars of your stuff and killed your bees. in the real world, we do what we have to do and we do it within the limits that folks like you impose upon us.

When I came back to the computer I found I had not signed out. So before I do, let me clarify a few points for the benefit of those who presume to know those they don't. I don't live in the city. I grew up in the country and now live on 4 wooded and pastured acres I own surrounded by hundreds of unoccupied acres. I'm also not an idiot. I have a PhD and quite a bit of country common sense. I don't hug trees, though I do enjoy their shade. Not only am I not a "gun/hunting fear monger", I own a rifle, semi automatic pistol and a shotgun and am more than capable using them. I support everyone's right to own guns and believe them to be a must have for those of us living in the country. So no, I actually HAVEN'T prevented you or anyone else from 'shooting where you live', nor have I 'imposed' any limits on you. And if you'd have really read the post PRIOR to spouting off, you'd have seen I said the person that shot the racoons had the better of the lethal options. I also said I thought moving them somewhere to make them someone else's problem was despicable. If you think drowning is not cruel, you haven't been close. Unfortunately, I have. I was trapped under rapids when my canoe partner panicked. Thank God, I swam well enough to get out.

I have 47 beehives and repeat that I have not had a problem with them. Elevating them with a large rock on top WORKS, as do mouse guards. I have not had equipment torn up for that reason. So, I am living in the 'real world' - I just obviously do it much better than you. People ARE supposed to be smarter than animals. Guess you, KathyP, haven't gotten there yet. There are natural controls for most wildlife, though I admit dealing with the physical capacity of a bear would be problematic. For other problems you are not equipped to deal with, I stand by the belief that shooting is the better option. You are a classic example of an idiot, spouting off and falsely presuming you know where a person lives, who they are, and what they believe regarding guns or anything else without knowing anything about them. An example also of the venomn I referred to. I did not single anyone out and call them names or presume to know anything about them that I did not. I simply stated my opinions about the direction the postings had gone. Why throw a hand grenade at a weed when pulling it out of the garden will do?

This time, I will be sure to sign off. For those of you who were posting sensible and uncruel solutions, my apologies - neither of my postings were meant for you.

Oh, one last thing. In case you think I haven't had a problem because I rarely have racoons, I see them every night and some mornings after a rain. I just prevent them from being problems in my beeyard or gardens. Dogs and lights scare them away as well. Or at least my dog did before he died of old age.